Feisty Hewitt Captures Title

July 8, 2002|By Charles Bricker Staff writer

WIMBLEDON, England — It was a Wimbledon men's final that was as one-sided as predicted, but that couldn't detract from the personal and historic significance this victory brought to the fiery little Aussie, Lleyton Hewitt.

At 150 pounds, if that, and only after a half-dozen trips to the barbie, Rocky with a racket bears no physical resemblance to his movie hero, the "Italian Stallion."

But you can match Hewitt's heart and persistence with Rocky Balboa's in any of the five movies he used to watch for inspiration before big matches.

He doesn't take off points, he doesn't cruise during rallies. He celebrates big shots with piercing screams of "Come on!" and he has established himself as the greatest anomaly in the game today. Only one other player since 1982, Andre Agassi, has won Wimbledon without playing serve-and-volley tennis.

This 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 victory over David Nalbandian of Argentina on a cool, mostly overcast Sunday was the biggest rout in a men's final here since Jimmy Connors won only four games from John McEnroe in 1984, and few could have been surprised by its brevity.

Hewitt is the world No. 1, supremely self-confident despite his size and well aware of what it takes to win a Grand Slam title after he snatched his first by straight-setting Pete Sampras in the final of the 2001 U.S. Open.

Nalbandian, meanwhile, was playing his first Wimbledon, and his nerves were obvious early on when he was broken in his first two service games and three of his first four.

It wasn't until the smooth-stroking Argentine found his backhand down the line in the second game of the second set did he as much as trouble Hewitt.

His improved play, however, didn't last.

"He's got a nice backhand up the line, and I knew that from playing him in Barcelona," Hewitt said. "He disguises it well. The only way I could get him not to go for it too much is with a bit more depth on my shots."

Presto! Hewitt produced a little more depth on his shots.

"The other thing I did well was come in on his backhand a bit. He didn't have the best retrieving slice of all time. Quite often I got a high volley or didn't have to play a volley. I think that sort of turned the match during the second and third sets."

Nalbandian broke Hewitt twice, which helped him to stay even in the second set. But Hewitt broke again to get to 5-3 when Nalbandian, tired of hitting so many backhands, went for an inside-out forehand from the extreme corner and slugged it into the net.

Hewitt ran out the set with an ace down the middle, then turned to his coach, Jason Stoltenberg, and the rest of his supporters on the mezzanine level of the Centre Court and showed them his tightly clenched fist.

The rest of the match was a snap.

When Hewitt got to the locker room after the match, there was a Who's Who in Australian Tennis waiting for him: Frank Sedgman, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Neale Fraser, Wally Masur, John Fitzgerald and Pat Cash, who in 1987 was the last Aussie to win here.

Here was an army of 30-something, 40-something, 50-something and even 60-something former Aussie stars saluting the 21-year-old champ.

For a young man with a considerable respect for the history of Aussie tennis, this was as important a moment for him as when Nalbandian's final forehand drifted a foot beyond the baseline on match point.

"Wow, it's unbelievable," Hewitt said. "I don't know what to say. You're serving for the match, sitting at the changeover chair, trying to think if this is actually real ... trying to figure out if you're playing the first round or the final out there.

"I think when you get up 5-2, a double break, I started thinking, `Well, this is a real chance now.'"

Nalbandian had one particularly high-profile moment, diving for a volley and rolling on the grass, as Boris Becker did in the late 1980s. "I know. I would like to play like him," Nalbandian said.

Also a baseliner, Nalbandian was able at times to match Hewitt's ground stroking and managed to acquire 10 break points. But he converted only two as Hewitt repeatedly drove flat, heavy service winners to the corner of the ad court.

This was one of the strangest Wimbledons with Agassi, Sampras and Marat Safin going out in the second round in the bottom half of the draw, smoothing the way for Nalbandian to make it to the final.

Hewitt, meanwhile, had three easy opponents in the second through fourth rounds. Then he confronted Sjeng Schalken in the quarters and needed five sets to win, and came back 24 hours later to beat British fan favorite Tim Henman. That's when he played his finest tennis.

Hewitt doesn't often watch the Rocky movies anymore, though he probably knows every line by heart. And there is that scene when Rocky gets slugged senseless by Drago, the big Russian, which is one of his favorites. "Rocky comes back and wins," Hewitt said.

Hewitt was smiling a lot Sunday afternoon, and not only at Rocky movies. He's no heavyweight, but he is the Wimbledon champ.